Paralysis
by shabs
Summary: CRACK! The plumber must have jumped nearly a foot in the air, his heart pounding wildly, before he spun on his heel to determine the source of the noise. Nothing…he didn't even see a branch out of place in the murky forest behind him, but for a while longer he remained on high alert; waiting for another sound. Suddenly, a sound to his right! The man turned...Oh, oh Dio no!


His breath came out in painful gasps as his feet dug into the cool ground with a crunch. Other than that the night was completely silent. He had no idea where he was, or how he came to be there. _Mamma mia_ was he in a predicament. The forest was filled with darkness but not the kind that could be found in a shadowy street or nighttime stroll. This darkness seemed…alive. It shifted and grew, slowly moving in and out of the edges of his vision; almost as though it was taunting him. If he was in any other situation the man would have thought the trees looked like any other but now he only saw them as dark, jagged enemies; popping out of the fog in a flash as he rushed through their low hanging branches. Although the scenery that surrounded him was certainly terrifying (and would have frozen him in fear under other circumstances) it was tame in comparison to the /thing/ chasing him. The man whispered a curse under his breath as his blue pant leg snagged on the curved root of a tree. This whole forest was trying to kill him! If he wasn't careful he would be losing more than his hat. With a powerful lurch of his leg the man freed himself from the deadly grasp and again, set off running; not daring to look to see if the creature had finally caught up with him. Suddenly, the monotonous pounding of footsteps ceased behind him but the man wasn't stupid, oh no. He continued to run as though his life depended on it; only stopping when he believed he had a good distance between himself and /it/. Once he had enough breath to look around; the crisp air of the forest making his lungs burn slightly, the man took his hat off his head and began to wring it slowly in his grasp. He always did this when he was nervous. His brother often told him not to do so, for his hat would surely fall to ruin with such treatment, but he couldn't help it. Sometimes things just got so /terrifying/ and even though his feet may get frozen his mind doesn't stop screaming at him to do _something_, so he usually pulls off his hat and wrings it between his hands. Not the best coping mechanism but hey, he did his best. Now, he found himself in a kind of clearing, in the middle of an evil forest, doing the same thing. It was only a _kind _of clearing because, well, it wasn't completely _clear. _In the center of it stood a huge gnarled tree. It looked much older than the rest; its jagged branches reaching toward the sky in a daunting display. The man gulped; his knees beginning to shake. He wished his brother was here…wherever here was.

_CRACK!_

The man must have jumped nearly a foot in the air, his heart pounding wildly, before he spun on his heel to determine the source of the noise. Nothing…he didn't even see a branch out of place in the murky forest behind him, but for a while longer he remained on high alert; waiting for another sound. A few moments later he breathed a sigh of relief. There hadn't been another. He must have just imagined it to begin with. Now that his racing heart had slowed some, the man returned to his original position. Oh, oh Dio no! The…the creature must have circled around him after that noise. It stood, barely ten feet away from his quivering form; its tall, angular body twice the size of him but that wasn't the worst of it. The man's stomach did a flip as the creature's face, or lack thereof, seemed to stare blankly at him; its milky complexion shining slightly in the night.

"Wha- w-what do you want?!" He shouted hoarsely but of course the creature didn't answer, how could it without a mouth?

The longer he faced off against this unknown enemy the more uneasy he began to feel. No, uneasy wasn't the word. His vision faded in and out; constantly becoming nothing more than a sheet of static before his eyes and yet his heart rate seemed to slow. The man's breathing even out as his muscles relaxed in their own accord. Even his mind became eerily relaxed as the creature began to take elegant steps towards him. The wind whistled through the trees but the man took no notice. His body was completely relaxed and if it weren't for long tendrils encircling his body the man was sure he would have fallen. As the last of his vision began to fade to black he couldn't help but think maybe…this wasn't so bad. A white, featureless face was the last thing his mind registered before he fell into blissful unawareness.

Luigi awoke with a panicked start; his elbow slamming into the side of a dresser amidst his wild thrashing.

"_Mamma mia_!" He shouted in pain and bewilderment.

It took a moment for the poor Italian's mind to stop its wild turning but once it did he breathed a deep sigh and rested his head in his hands. His shoulders were still shaking and tears threatened to spill from his eyes as he rubbed one hand through his disheveled hair. This was the third night in a row he had that dream. Luigi knew he could be a bit of a chicken (something his brother venomously debated) but normally his nightmares were filled with a burning mushroom kingdom: Bowser towering over the rubble with Mario's limp form held tightly in his grasp, not…this. The dreams were always the same. In the beginning he would find himself alone and helpless in a dark forest. He doesn't know how he ended up there. Then, as he trudges through the mangled wood someone, well, some_thing_ begins to follow him and in the end he is met with a blank face and static before waking up. _Mio Dio_ he had to get over this. Luigi collected his nerves; taking a deep breath and brushing the first trickle of tears from his eyes. The plumber knew his brother, Mario, would be awake soon enough and he knew he would be /hungry/. With that in mind Luigi showered, brushed his hair and teeth, and then donned his usual green shirt, blue overalls, and green hat. He took one last look at himself in the mirror eh, he guessed that's as good as it was going to get. The floor boards creaked under his carefully placed steps. At this rate Mario would wake before eggs were even on the stove! As careful and quiet as a mouse Luigi crept out of his room, past his brother's, and entered the kitchen. It was a beautiful day, he thought to himself. Outside the window the Mushroom Kingdom glistened in a perfect summer day. The sky was clear and bright; casting its light over the distant mountains and green fields just beyond the Mario brother's house. Nothing could go wrong with a day like that…then again you never know…but he would save that thought for later. Inspired by the sight Luigi decided he would make a huge breakfast. That would certainly lift his spirits.

While Luigi whistled in the kitchen and Mario slept peacefully in his bed a certain professor was having quite a bit of trouble with reports of a new ghost. Luckily he knew just the plumber to call!


End file.
